The Biology of Poverty

1
The Biology of Poverty

• Dr Harry Burns is the Chief Medical Officer for
  Scotland.
• He believes that there are clear links between
  poverty and health
• He has studied why poorer people, particularly in
  the west of Scotland, since the 1950s suffer
  from worse health than richer people.

2
Why?

• Difficult social circumstances, especially in the
  early years, have a dramatic effect on the body.
• A child brought up in a chaotic environment -
  parents with drug or alcohol issues, instability
  of care, poor housing will be in an aggressive
  environment when they should be getting nurtured
  and loved.
• This environment has a biological response the
  increase in stress levels impact on the whole
  body.
• The childs brain at an early stage will be
  underdeveloped which leads to weaker defence
  mechanisms.

3
The sick man of Europe

• This explains why heart disease, cancers and
  strokes are more likely to be found in the west
  of Scotland.
• Dr Burns notes that up until the 1950s Scotlands
  health was no worse than most European countries.